Chapter 1954
Lounging on the couch, Ivy rubbed her temples – they were throbbing mercilessly. She closed her eyes, intending to take a brief respite, when suddenly, the chime of a text message pierced the silence.
Thinking it might be Balfour replying, she slowly opened her eyes and reached for her phone.
[Ivy, are you resting now?]
The message wasn’t from Balfour; it was Nolan who had sent it.
Ivy replied with a mix of feelings.
[Yeah, about to catch some z’s. Thanks for the lift home today, Nolan.]
[Don’t mention it. Let’s keep in touch often, and if you need anything, just holler.]
Ivy stared at her phone for a moment before sending back a polite emoji. Then she switched off her phone and set it aside.
She wasn’t naive. She could sense that Nolan’s intentions weren’t just about catching up as old school pals. However, regardless of the motive, she wasn’t about to give him any encouragement.
Outside, the sound of a car pulling up diverted her attention. Ivy rose and drifted to the balcony.
Sure enough, Balfour was back.
She wondered if he had seen her message.
Alyssa was probably still in the living room, waiting for him. Who knew what she might ask him.
Worried that Balfour might slip up, Ivy considered heading downstairs. Her hand reached for the doorknob, hesitated, then withdrew.
She decided to wait and see.
Balfour, having had no time to rest all day, entered the house looking worn out. He changed his shoes and headed upstairs.
“Balfour.”
Alyssa, hearing the noise, stood up in the living room and called out to him, “Why are you back so late?”
“Got caught up with some last-minute stuff at work. Grandma, why are you still up this late?” Balfour paused, turning to face Alyssa.
Approaching him, Alyssa caught a whiff of a woman’s perfume.
This kind of fragrance was clearly not from Ivy – that kid never wore perfume.
“Come with me to the study, we need to talk.”
Alyssa’s face grew stern as she passed him and headed toward the study.
Balfour’s brow furrowed slightly, and after a moment’s contemplation, he followed Alyssa into the study.
“Have a seat.” Alyssa’s expression was grave. “Balfour, Ivy is a good kid.”
Hearing Ivy’s name, Balfour raised an eyebrow, “Grandma, why are you bring this up all of a sudden?”
Balfour was quite surprised. What on earth had Ivy done to earn such high praise from grandma?
“After you took Ivy to the party tonight, where did you go?” Alyssa pressed on, seeing that he wasn’t volunteering any information.
Mulling over the mention of the party, Balfour said, “Had to sort out some things at the office. Why the sudden interest in these matters, Grandma?”
